This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Dog clutches are used in a variety of applications (e.g. vehicle drivetrains) and generally include an input member and an output member that each have a set of teeth. Typically, either the input member or the output member is movable relative to the other such that the teeth of the input and output members can be selectively meshingly engaged to transmit rotary power between the input and output members. A linear actuator moves either the input or output member linearly along a common rotational axis of the input and output members until the teeth meshingly engage. The relative rotational speeds and angular alignments of the input and output members can cause their respective teeth to contact each other before the teeth are fully meshed. This can result in additional wear on the teeth and other components attached to the input and output members. This can also result in increased noise, vibration, and harshness of the clutched device.
A non-limiting example of a dog clutch application is a locking differential assembly. Differential assemblies are known in the art for transmitting rotary power from a power train to a pair of vehicle wheels. Typically, a differential assembly includes a differential case and a differential gearset with a pair of side gears that are driven by the differential case. A locking differential assembly is configured to selectively lock one or both of the output side gears of the differential gearset to the differential case for common rotation about a rotary axis. Typically, the locking differential assembly includes a locking dog that is non-rotatably but slidably mounted to the differential case so as to be movable into a position where it engages teeth on one of the side gears so as to inhibit rotation of the side gear relative to the differential case. While this configuration is well suited for its intended purpose, this type of locking differential assembly is nevertheless susceptible to improvement.